Smoke and mirrors.
Niigata’s governor met the Kashiwazaki and Kariwa mayors today regarding TEPCO’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, often described as the world’s largest by capacity. Both mayors signaled willingness to accept a restart, and the governor said he “won’t take long,” with a decision possible this month. A new prefectural survey found 61% of nearby residents say restart conditions are not yet met.
View attachment 8277
Why no one lives there in numbers that would require a NPP. Nuclear power plants have to be close to the places they are providing power. Why NPPs are always just outside of the city or burbs. You lose power the further the electricity has to travel.Can you Imagine attempting, in the USA, to build a NPP in the San Andreas fault zone?
There are new types of nuclear power plants that are quite literally meltdown proof. And of course China is beating us to that punch too.
Well I can Imagine the real world where you would NEVER get it built there. The protesters and the politicians would never cave. It doesn’t matter that it makes sound reason, fear wins.Also yes I can imagine.
The French demonstrated a self moderating reactor two decades ago. The Chinese probably just got around to stealing it. What was the names of the second crew to land on the moon? Exactly.There are new types of nuclear power plants that are quite literally meltdown proof. And of course China is beating us to that punch too.
Public sentiment on nuclear power has done an entire 180. The dumb anti-nuclear power hippies of the 60's & 70's have pretty much all gone into retirement or moved on to a better life or got on board the nuclear wagon themselves.The protesters
It would also be good to have a way to reduce nuclear waste, to find a way of storing it more safely, or even turning it into something usable. Finding some way of recycling it into other helpful products.I don't think they were so dumb. Nuclear power -is- good, and radioactive isotopes have helped me a great deal because docs have used them in scans to help me. However, where there is great good, there is also capacity for great evil. People have seen instances where nuclear power ( accidents) and nuclear weapons ( testing and otherwise) have caused great harm to others. It's no wonder the anti-nuclear folks were/are afraid and angry. We -do- need nuclear power now, because the energy need for our many modern advancements requires much, and other methods don't seem to be working well enough. We must be careful to keep old power plants safety checked, try our best not to build them in areas where natural disasters could cause accidental releases of radiation into the water, soil, or air and guard plants from being taken advantage of by enemy combatants that would turn our "friend" the atom into a destroying angel.
France can, and already does, recycle it's nuclear waste. Majority of it infact.It would also be good to have a way to reduce nuclear waste, to find a way of storing it more safely, or even turning it into something usable. Finding some way of recycling it into other helpful products.
That's fantastic! It's too bad we can't seem to follow suit.
www.molybdenum42.com
Should of added... at any meaningful scale*. Let alone recycling actual spent fuel into new fuel and also sells recycled spent fuel to other countries. Only France does that at any meaningful scale.Why only France does it.

Biggest expense in any privately funded nuclear build is borrowing the money.
A bipartisan U.S. bill aims to cut nuclear construction costs by letting commercial grade concrete and steel be used in non safety related nuclear plant structures.
Not a reactor approval. Not construction. BUT it targets one of nuclear’s biggest killers which is cost and build time. If passed, of course.
